MS warns of worms

A Microsoft security report says cyber crooks are digging into computers for weak spots to penetrate with worms.

Rogue security software remained the top hacker threat to computers during the first half of this year, but the number of infections was dropping while penetrations by worms doubled.

"We still see rogue security software in high volume but not on the rise," Microsoft Malware Protection Center principal architect Jeff Williams told AFP. "What is on the rise is resurgence of worm activity, particularly Conficker and Taterf."

Worms are programmed to replicate themselves, wriggling from machine to machine by hiding in legitimate applications or piggy-backing on USB drives or other portable data storage devices.

Rogue security software, or "scareware," typically spreads by tricking people with pop-up boxes bearing bogus alerts that their machines are infected.

Spooked computer users are then enticed to pay for applications to fix the supposed computer problems. People that fall for the scam wind up paying hackers; providing them credit card information, and installing malware.

"When selecting an anti-virus product, do it from a proven provider, not someone you never heard of who just pops up on your screen," Williams said.

Cyber criminals are moving with increasing speed when it comes to reverse engineering patches released to fix vulnerabilities in software programs or operating systems, according to Microsoft.

Hackers dissect patches to identify weakness being repaired, then craft malicious code to take advantage of flaws in machines with software that isn't kept up-to-date. "A patch is released and that is what starts these days of risk," Williams said.